Hot Ice
by LexThePenguin
Summary: Riley is a medical student that loves taking care of others. She's independent and motivated but stubborn and slow to let her guard down. When she unexpectedly meets a charming hockey superstar, Sidney Crosby, will the doctor-to-be let her walls down?
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1: Rolling in the Mud

"Mom, I'm fine. I just need to relax this weekend and I'll be okay," Riley said as she slipped on her running shoes and shifted her cell phone to her opposite ear.

"I know honey. I'm just worried about you. You seem so stressed out. Just keep thinking, only one more year and you'll be a doctor. You'll be done with school before you know it," her mom said lovingly through the phone.

"I'll talk to you later. I'm going for a run. Love you, bye," she hurriedly said as she finished putting her shoes on. It had been a long week and she was looking forward to a long run to let off some steam. It was one of the ways that she could put in some headphones and get out of her own head – just focus on the road. Medical school was tough, and she had been caring for a small child that was suffering from Ewing's sarcoma and it was hard. She loved taking care of kids, and she knew she wanted to apply for an orthopedic surgery residency and then complete a fellowship so she could be a pediatric orthopedist, but it was weeks like this one that made her question if she was strong enough to handle it. _I just need to clear my head today,_ she thought to herself as she put her phone on the kitchen counter while picking up her iPod. She never liked taking her phone when she went running. If she dropped it then it would be too expensive to replace, so rather than risk it she just kept her little white iPod shuffle that she owned for years strapped to her arm.

She grabbed her apartment key and walked out of the door, locking it behind her and stashing her key in the little hidden pocket on the side of her running capris and stepped outside of her building. It was a beautiful late spring day in Philadelphia and she was looking forward to running on a trail through her favorite park by her apartment. She was lucky because it was relatively close to her apartment and close to the hospital she was at most days for hours on end, so she never really needed to wander far for her everyday activities. She turned on her iPod and stuck in her headphones just as the music started to play.

 _Gotta keep one jump ahead of the bread line, one swing ahead of the sword…_

She smiled to herself. This playlist was one that she's listened to a million times and it never got old. For some reason, Disney songs just made running even more fun. She jogged the few blocks it took to get to the park and found her trail. She liked this specific trail because it had thick bushes and trees so she could forget she was in the city for a little while and pretend like she was in the woods, like back home. She missed home a lot, and was planning on applying for residency on the other half of the state so she could be back in her hometown after graduating from medical school next Spring.

She lost her thoughts while running, focusing only on breathing and the rewarding burn she felt as she ran farther and farther. Even the music just became background noise as she focused on putting one foot in front of the other. She had made it to the end of the trail and realized that it was starting to get dark, which meant she must have been running for a while – probably almost an hour on the part of the trail that makes a large loop. She decided to turn around and head back the way she came towards home. When she was almost towards the other end of the trail, about to poke out to the park to run the last few blocks to her apartment, a figure stepped out in front of her into the middle of the path. Before she could react she ran into the person, slipped to the side of them, and slid down a small embankment and into the bushes.

"Are you okay?" she heard as she started to realize what happened.

"I am so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going. I was trying to, uh, just trying to get into the trail and I was looking backwards. Can you hear me?" She knew that it was a man speaking to her, but her eyesight was a little blurry. As she started to stand up, she realized that the back of her head was on a rock. _Well that explains the blurry vision,_ she thought to herself.

"Yeah, I'm okay. My vision is a little blurry. I wasn't watching where I was going. I was lost in thought I suppose." She started to stand, but right when she started to put pressure on her left foot she felt a shooting pain go through her ankle as a small yelp escaped her lips. Since the pain caught her by surprise she nearly fell over again, but right before she lost her balance and toppled over she felt two hands grab her shoulders and keep her steady.

"Is there something else wrong? You hurt your foot, eh?" He said as he continued to keep her steady.

"I think I sprained my ankle," she replied as she rubbed her eyes. Her vision was slowly returning, with some white spots coming in and out of her periphery.

As he kept holding onto her he started to shift so that his arm was helping to support her left side a little more, helping to keep more of her weight off of the ankle.

"Do you have a phone so that we can call to get you some help?" he asked, with obvious concern in his voice.

"No. I don't bring my phone with me when I run. Do you have one that I could borrow? I can just get an Uber and go home."

"No, I don't. Well I mean, I have a phone that I would let you borrow, but unfortunately it's dead so it's not much help, sorry" he hastily replied.

"That's okay. I can just get to the road and take a cab…" she started, but before she could finish her thought he quickly chimed in.

"You really shouldn't be going home. You hurt your ankle and you hit your head pretty hard on that rock. You should make sure you at least get your head checked out. You don't want to have a concussion and not know it. Trust me, concussions are no fun." He said as he wrapped his arm further around her to help support her weight. She felt him nearly lift her off the ground. _He must be pretty strong,_ she thought as she continued to rub her eyes a little.

"Honestly, I'm fine. Thank you for your help but I'll be okay." She tried to walk, but the moment she put her full weight on her ankle she felt pain again, although it wasn't as bad as she thought it might have been. She'd be able to deal with it until she got home. She was used to being on her feet during her surgery rotations for hours on end and just dealing with the pain in her feet or lower back, so she could deal with this to get back to the apartment that was only a few blocks away.

"You definitely don't need to thank me. I wasn't watching where I was going and stepped in front of you. And please consider getting looked at. I want to make sure you're okay." Before she could answer he wrapped his arm further around so that it was now on her waist and he was supporting nearly all of her weight with just one of his arms, almost lifting her off the ground. _He must be pretty strong,_ she thought again.

"Okay. There is a hospital just a few blocks away from here. I can walk there." Just as she finished her sentence she realized that her vision was back to normal. She felt the back of her head to see if there was any blood. She felt something wet, but when she brought her hand back around to look at it all she saw was mud. _No blood, that's a good sign._

"If you don't mind I'd like to make sure you get there okay. If it's only a few blocks away it'll only take five or ten minutes and I can be out of your hair. It'll make me feel better knowing you at least got there alright," he said gently, still sounding apologetic. His voice was calm and soothing, and even though she had better wits about her than to let a stranger get so close and personal, he had an endearing quality that made her feel comfortable. She tried to take another step and still felt the pain.

"Okay. Just walk straight to the sidewalk and we'll make a right," she said, deciding to accept his help rather than hobble her way home, and this way he wouldn't know where she lived he was a creep.

"Are you okay to walk with me helping you like this?" She could really hear how smooth his voice was, and she noticed that he had a slight accent. She wasn't sure exactly where from. _He said eh earlier and the way he said sorry was different, but it wasn't a really thick accent, so maybe Toronto?_ As she was thinking about where he might be from she realized that she hadn't answered his question. She looked up to answer him, thinking that she hadn't really gotten a good look at him yet. He was wearing all black tennis shoes, black loose shorts that came to his knee, a dark grey zip up sweatshirt that was open, revealing a light blue t-shirt underneath, and a black Reebok hat that was pulled down pretty far. She focused her vision a little more, noticing he had a strong jaw with just a hint of dark stubble around his chin. His skin was smooth where there wasn't any stubble, and he had full, light pink lips. His eyes were large and a beautiful brown hue. _He's handsome_.

"Yeah, it's fine," and just as she was about to continue speaking it hit her like a ton a bricks. She recognized him, and nearly gasped out loud at her surprise and stupidity for taking so long to realize it, but was able to stop it right before the breath escaped her lips. _Sidney Crosby!?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Ch: 2 Doctors and Dive Bars_

"Are you okay to walk with me helping you like this?" He couldn't help but notice that she was still limping and he felt terrible about it since he was the reason she was hurt and covered in mud. _She is small enough I could easily carry her._ _If only I would have remembered to charge my phone before getting on the plane, I could have just called an ambulance to come get her instead of her having to walk on her bad ankle._

He continued to walk towards the sidewalk that she pointed to. He glanced down at her to see if she was still struggling and he realized that she was looking up at him.

"Yeah, it's fine." She answered. As she answered him she got the weirdest look on her face, like she had seen a ghost, and it made him nervous.

"Are you sure you're okay with walking? We could flag a cab down or something?" he said, trying to shake off the nerves he was feeling from her weird facial expression a moment ago.

"No, that's okay. It's only a few blocks, anyway," she answered hurriedly. Her demeanor definitely had changed, and he wasn't exactly sure why. _Her ankle must just hurt,_ he thought as he tried to brush it off.

He continued to help her walk, lost in his own thoughts. Before he knew it, they were at the entrance of the hospital. _I guess it was really close._ He helped her into the emergency room entrance and into a chair. He walked over to the front desk and told them why they were there. The woman at the desk looked up with an annoyed look on her face and handed him a clipboard with some papers on it and with a pen attached to the clipboard by a string.

"Fill these out and bring them back," the older woman grumbled. He walked back to where he had left the girl and handed her the clipboard. He sat down in the chair next to her, and realized a few people were staring at him, so he pulled his hat down a little further and turned to look at the girl.

He hadn't gotten a chance to look at get a good look at her, since he had been more worried about getting her some help. Her lips were large, full, and a deep pink, with a small shapely nose above them. Thick dark lashes framed brown eyes with flecks of green and lighter brown throughout them. Her skin was light and smooth but slightly tanned liked she had spent some time in the sun recently. Her hair was long, dark brown - nearly black - and pulled up into a tight pony tail, with some hairs around her face sticking because of sweat and some mud. She didn't seem to be wearing any make-up, or if she had been wearing any her sweat had washed it away. Even somewhat disheveled with mud in various places he thought that she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

He realized that he was probably staring at her, and was grateful for her focusing on the clipboard, because otherwise she might have noticed.

"Thank you for helping me get here but you don't have to stay," she said as she continued to write on the papers in front of her.

"I don't mind staying to make sure you make it home alright, if you don't mind the company." He was going to say her name but realized they hadn't actually introduced themselves. "I'm Sidney, by the way," he said as he reached his hand out to her, offering a handshake.

"Riley," she said as she grabbed his hand and shook it. He noticed that her face had started to turn a light shade of pink, and he wasn't sure why she was blushing, but he found it endearing. They sat there in silence as she finished filling out the forms on the clipboard and she went to get up to take the papers to the woman at the front desk.

As soon as he saw her trying to stand he stopped her, "Let me take that up for you."

She handed him the clipboard and he took it back to the woman that hadn't been the most welcoming when they arrived. He handed the woman the paperwork and stood there, waiting to see if she was going to say anything. She just rolled her eyes and angrily said "we'll call the name when we're ready for you." _She definitely woke up on the wrong side of the bed,_ he thought to himself as he made his way back to Riley.

He was happy that they had decided to sit in the corner, sort of away from the main part of the waiting room with the majority of chairs because he realized that there were a good number of people looking at him, probably recognizing him.

He sat back down, trying to turn away from the others in the waiting room and to ignore the attention. "So, Riley, what do you for a living?"

"I'm a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania," she smiled as she answered.

He was a little caught off guard by her answer. _Does that mean she's going to be a doctor? She looks barely old enough to even be out of college._ "That's cool…Sorry to ask, but how old are you? Honestly, you don't look old enough to be a doctor."

"Almost a doctor. I don't graduate until next Spring. I don't mind you asking, I actually get asked that all the time by the patients I help care for. I'm 24. I'll be 25 at the end of next month." She laughed as she answered. He was glad that she wasn't offended by his question, and he wasn't really sure what prompted him to ask. He usually isn't so forward. _She's only a few years younger than me._

As he was thinking to himself, he heard her start to speak but then stop, like she couldn't decide what she wanted to say. He looked up at her and realized that the slight blushing that had been on her face was darker now, and he was worried that he had embarrassed her, but before he could say anything she started to talk again.

"I feel like it's only a common courtesy to ask you what you do for a living in return, but…" she said, growing an even darker shade of red. He started to feel nervous. _What is she going to say? Maybe she wants me to leave. Why do I even care?_

"…I already know what you do for a living."

 _Now it makes sense why she looked at me like she had seen a ghost. At least she had been polite, unlike a lot of others I come across in rival cities._

"I just didn't want to be weird and act like I knew you," she said, breaking him away from his thoughts.

"I was worried what you were going to say. I'm not always the most loved person in this city," he said, rubbing the back of his neck with a slight smile on his face.

"What do you mean? People don't actually give you a hard time, do they?" she said, with a wistful laugh.

"Well, when you're the captain of one of the Flyers biggest rival teams you're not always the person people like seeing on the street. I was actually trying to avoid some people that were getting a little rowdy on my way back to my hotel from dinner when I stepped into the trail and got in your way."

He looked up at her, and realized that the red has disappeared from her face and she was flashing a huge, toothy grin, with straight, white teeth that made her lips look even darker against their brightness.

"Well you don't have to worry about me giving you a hard time. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and no matter where I live I'll always be a fan of the black and gold. I'm just here for school. Actually, my little brother would probably kill me if he knew I was talking to you and he missed out," she said, still grinning. "Plus, you were nice enough to spend your time helping my clumsy butt get here."

That made all of his nervous energy melt away. "Clumsy, eh? You wouldn't need to be here if I had watched where I was going." He wasn't sure what else to say. He remembered how she lit up talking about what she does, so he figured he could keep talking to her about that. He really didn't want to talk about himself. All anyone ever wants to talk about is his life.

"So you said that you'll be done next year, eh? Do you know what kind of doctor you're going to be?"

"Yeah, I'll be done next May. My goal is to be a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. I'll actually be back in Pittsburgh at the beginning of next month for my first away rotation at Shadyside hospital. I'm really excited to get to spend some time back home," she said with her grin growing even larger. _Man does she have a beautiful smile._

They continued to banter back and forth for a while with the conversation covering favorite places to eat back home and fun things to do here in Philadelphia. About 30 minutes had passed when a nurse had come into the waiting room and was announcing her name.

"Riley Martin?" the nurse announced. Riley raised her hand, alerting the nurse to her location. She tried to stand up but she was still in some pain, so he quickly helped her up and over to the nurse that was calling her name. The nurse led them to a bed behind a curtain and said that the doctor would be in soon.

He was starting to feel a little uncomfortable, thinking that maybe she would like some privacy back here with the doctor, and he was going to offer to wait for her in the waiting room, but an older man in a long white coat walked in past the curtains.

"Riley? What happened?" the man said, standing next to the bed she was sitting on.

"Hi, Dr. Marcus. I just had a little accident. I think I sprained my ankle. I doubt anything is broken, but I figured I'd come to get it checked out to make sure," she replied quickly.

"She also hit her head pretty hard," he chimed in from the corner of the room. She quickly glanced at him, not in a scolding manner, but like she had forgotten he was there.

"Alright, Riley. We'll take you for x-rays of your ankle," the doctor said as he pulled a pen light out of his pocket.

"Look straight ahead," he said as he shined the light in one eye and then the other. He had her watch his finger as he moved it around in various patterns, and then had her tap his finger with hers in different locations. He then had a look at Riley's ankle, pressing on various parts to see what hurt or not.

"I think your head is fine, but we'll get you a quick non-contrast CT to be safe," he said as he walked out of the room. Riley sighed as the doctor walked out, almost like she had been holding her breath.

"That's one of my preceptors. He's a very no-nonsense kind of guy. He always makes me nervous," she said looking at the ground. "Thanks for mentioning my head. I had actually forgotten about it."

"No problem. I have personal experience with concussions and it isn't something that you want to miss, but I'm sure you already know that, future doctor and all," he said. She didn't reply but just smiled. A moment later a nurse was there with a wheel chair to get her, and said that they'd be back in about 15 or 20 minutes.

He sat there staring around the room. It looked like a pretty typical emergency room. A sink with containers of cotton balls, tongue depressors, and alcohol swabs lining the counter. Some white cabinets and drawers next to machines that he wasn't sure what they were for. As he was looking around the room, a young male nurse pushed the curtain to the side and walked in towards him.

"Hey, man. Sorry for barging in on you, but I heard through the grape vine that you were here and, um, I'm a big fan. I was wondering if I could get an autograph?" the nurse asked.

"Sure," he replied standing up to walk towards the nurse. The man handed him a sharpie marker and a notebook. He signed it quickly, handing it back to him and shaking his hand.

"Thank you," the nurse said with a grin as he was walking out of the curtain.

"You're welcome," he said, sitting back in the chair in the corner of the room. He was used to being approached by people for autographs, and he didn't mind it most of the time, but it felt awkward in this situation. He continued to mindlessly look around the room. About ten minutes later Riley was brought back in the wheel chair.

"The doctor should be back in a few minutes to go over your scans with you," the nurse said as she helped Riley back onto the bed in the room and walked out.

"Hi," she said, as she turned to look at him sitting in the corner of the room.

"Hi," he said back, smirking at her. An awkward silence fell over the room, and he wasn't sure what to say. He was relieved when the doctor walked in.

"Let's get a look at your scans," the doctor said as he sat down at a computer in the room. "You're ankle isn't broken, and your CT scan looked fine. We'll get your ankle wrapped and give you some Ibuprofen to help with the swelling and pain. Just elevate it and put some ice on it to help. It should be better in a few days." He said as he got up to leave the room.

"I told you I was okay," she said, smiling at him.

"Well now we know that you're okay and I don't have to feel quite as bad for hurting you," he said shaking his head.

"It's not only your fault, you know. I wasn't looking where I was going, either," she said, still smiling. Her smile was overwhelming and contagious. He couldn't remember the last time he smiled so much. _I must look like a goofball_.

A nurse came into the room a few minutes later. She got some ace bandages out of one of the cabinets in the room and quickly wrapped her ankle. She then handed her 2 large white pills, telling her that it was 1000 mg Ibuprofen, and that she could continue to take more if her ankle still hurt or swelled. Riley thanked the nurse as she handed her the discharge papers and left the room.

She started to try to stand, and he realized what she was doing, quickly standing to help her.

"I'm fine. With the wrap it feels much better, and the Ibuprofen shouldn't take too long to kick in," she said, waving him off. "I'm going to go to the bathroom to try to clean some of this mud off of me," she said, as she walked through the curtain quickly.

She walked out before he had a chance to ask where he should wait for her. _Should I just wait here? Go in to the waiting room? Does she even want me to wait for her?_ He decided that waiting for her out by the front desk in the waiting room would be the best choice. He walked out and sat in one of the chairs in the waiting room. He noticed that the room was much less full than it had been when they had arrived earlier. He checked his watch and was shocked to see that it was already nearly 10pm. A few minutes later she returned to the waiting room. He could tell that she had fixed her hair and washed most of the mud off of her, even though her clothes still had some on it.

"I think I got most of it," she said, spinning around like she was looking for more mud. She was wearing black running pants that came to half-way down her calves and hugged her body like a glove, and a black tank top. She was thin, but with toned, muscular arms and calves. She was kind of tall too, maybe only 3 or 4 inches shorter than him. He worried that he was staring again so he quickly looked up to her face, realizing she hadn't noticed.

"Ready to go?" he asked, holding his arm out as a support for her. She nodded her head and grabbed the arm that he had offered to her. As they walked out the door to the emergency room, he could hear a loud grumbling noise. It took a moment for him to realize that it was coming from her stomach.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, laughing because he already knew the answer.

"I haven't eaten since lunch today. I'll eat once I get home," she hurriedly replied, with the already familiar blush returning to her cheeks.

"Why don't you let me treat you to some dinner? It's the least I can do for causing you all this trouble," he said, stopping on the sidewalk, waiting for her answer. She looked at him for a moment, as if she was going to say no, but then she shook her head up and down.

"Okay. What kind of food do you like?" she said quietly.

"I'm open to just about anything. Have anywhere in mind?" he asked, still standing on the sidewalk right outside of the emergency room.

"Well, are you willing to give a sketchy dive bar a chance? It looks like a horrible place, but they have some of the best late-night food around," she said, biting her bottom lip like she was unsure of her recommendation.

"Lead the way," he replied. Just as they started to walk again he realized that he had forgotten about her ankle. _Idiot. She has a hurt ankle and you're asking her to walk even more._ "How's your ankle feeling? I can just take you home or we can catch a cab or something if you're still in pain…" he started to say but before he could finish she interrupted him.

"It feels fine. The wrap really made a difference, and the Ibuprofen will help even more in a little bit. Right now, all I care about is food!" she said, giggling. "Plus, you're supporting a lot of my weight, anyway."

He hadn't really realized it, but he had already wrapped his arm around her slim waist like he had on their way to hospital so he could support some her weight. He started to blush, and was grateful that it was dark out so she wouldn't be able to tell as easily. He also was grateful because there were a lot less people outside than had been when it was daylight out. In order to try and take attention away from his embarrassment, he thought of something to talk about quickly.

"So what do you like to do in your free time? Other than run into strangers," he teased.

"Well, lots of things, I guess. It depends on the day and how I'm feeling. If it's a lazy day I like to read, and play some video games once in a while. But most of the time I get outside as much as I can. I'm always so busy or studying indoors that any chance I can get I go outside. I like to hike, and run, and swim, and bike places. When I lived back home I would go kayaking, but there really aren't as many places here to do that. In the winter I like to snowboard or go sledding. Whenever I can get people to play with me I play tennis and, oh uh, other things…" she said. He realized that she had quickly ended her sentence and her mood had changed rapidly. _Did her ankle hurt again?_

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Ha, yeah I'm fine. I just thought about what I was going to say next and thought it would sound silly saying it to you and got a little embarrassed, I guess," she replied.

This was the second time in one night that she was so straightforward and blunt with what she was feeling. He liked it.

"What could you like to do that would be embarrassing? Do you collect clown dolls or something?" He laughed and looked down at her and could see her blushing, even in the dark.

"Well I do like stuffed animals, but that's not what I was going to say," she said, laughing while releasing a deep breath and continuing, "I play hockey with friends, too," and as she finished he could tell that she was smiling. He didn't even need to look at her. He could hear it in her voice.

"You play hockey, eh? Well, I might know a thing or two about that," he laughed. "What do you play?"

"Just street hockey nowadays, with whoever is around. When I was younger I played deck and ice hockey throughout high school. I stopped when I went to college," she said, smile still in her voice.

"What position?" he said, genuinely interested.

"Up until high school I played goalie, but when I started in high school they transitioned me to center. And now when we play street hockey I just play whatever position is needed depending on how many people we can get to play," she quickly replied.

"That's neat. I tend to play hockey a lot myself," he said, laughing.

" _You don't say?"_ she said, sarcastically, while playfully pushing her body weight into him. "You better watch it or I'll have to play against you, and you'll be embarrassed because a girl will be skating circles around you."

He couldn't help but like her attitude, "I like the confidence. I might have to hold you to that. So why did you stop playing when you went to college?" he asked as they turned a corner, going farther into a not-great looking neighborhood. He definitely would have never ventured to this part of town.

"Well I had a scholarship to play tennis in college, so that's what I did. I also swam in college, so that took over what would have been hockey season," she said happily.

"You must be pretty athletic if you played so many sports," he replied.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, blushing even more. "The bar is only like two more blocks away," she said pointing ahead. He could tell that she didn't like so much attention. "So what is it that you do to blow off steam, Mr. Crosby?"

"I don't get a ton of free time, but when I have it, I like to fish. I like being outdoors and around the water. I read, too. I'm into history, so I like to read different autobiographies. I like to watch TV on my lazy days or play a few video games. Honestly, though, I don't get many days off. Even in the off season I'm training or traveling a lot of the time."

"It seems like you don't get many chances to relax…" she said, her mood dropping a little.

"I like being busy and if I had too much free time I would probably go nuts, and I love hockey and don't mind having to dedicate most of my time to it. I enjoy doing it and want to do it as well as I can for as long as I can," he answered, truthfully.

"That's good to hear. It's refreshing to see someone that enjoys hard work – especially when it's for the hockey team that I happen to root for," she said, giggling to herself again.

A few steps later and she started to speak again, "It's the next door on the right."

He opened the door for her, and as he walked in, to his disappointment the place was packed.

"I guess I should have thought that it'd be super busy on a Friday night," she said apologetically.

"That's okay," he said, trying to see somewhere they could sit. _At least it's really dark in here, maybe nobody will recognize me._

"We can just get it to go, maybe? I don't think there is going to be too many tables opening up right now," she said as she looked over a menu she had grabbed from the bar.

He wasn't sure why, but he was relieved to hear that she was okay with just grabbing the food to go. She handed him the menu just as a bar tender walked over towards them. "Hi Riley. What can I get you tonight?"

"Hi, James," she said politely. "I'll have the chicken sausage sandwich and…" she turned around to look at him to see if he had picked anything off of the menu, but he hadn't even been looking at it. He was too busy watching her. Instead of holding them up he decided to order the same thing that she was having.

"You eat here often?" he asked her since the bartender seemed to have known her.

"More than I'd like to admit. I try to eat healthy, but sometimes their food just calls to you! If they served anything chocolate I'd probably never leave," she said patting her stomach. "I have such a bad sweet tooth sometimes."

"Really? I have a thing for chocolate myself. My biggest weakness though has to be Timbits from Tim Hortons," he replied.

"Timbits? What are those?" she asked turning her head to the side a little.

"They're just little donuts that come in a few different flavors. But they're bite sized and dangerous because of it. I can crush a ton of those at once," he said laughing. It looked like she had opened her mouth to reply but before she could he heard someone yell a few feet away from him.

"Hey, it's Sid the Kid!" a man said, walking to come closer. _Great. Hopefully he's not drunk_ , he thought to himself as he turned to the man. Luckily he seemed friendly.

"I wish I had a marker with me because I'd ask you for an autograph! How about a picture?" the man said, already stepping towards him. He just smiled as the man pulled his phone out of his pocket and took a picture of them.

"Hey thanks, man!" he said, walking back to his seat at the bar. The man had brought the attention of a lot of others in the bar, and more people were approaching him asking for autographs or pictures. Since everyone was being friendly he obliged, signing whatever they had for him and smiling politely in the pictures.

After a while of people approaching him he saw Riley out of the corner of his eye grabbing a bag from the bartender. As she turned to look back at him, still taking pictures with the bar-goers, he mouthed "I'm sorry," to her and she just smiled in return. After a few more people took pictures some men from the other side of the bar started to yell things about him not being Giroux, and he decided that it was as good a time as ever to head for the exit. He looked around for Riley again but couldn't see her anymore. He continued to move to the exit, trying to navigate the crowd, still not able to find her.

He decided to step out of the exit to regroup and go back in to get another look, but as he was stepping out of the door he felt a hand lightly grab his wrist. He was going to instinctively pull it away but when he looked to who it was he realized it was her.

"Sorry about that…" he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Is it always like that?" she asked quickly.

"Not always, but it can get pretty hectic a lot of the time. I try to avoid a lot of public places when I can because of it. Sorry," he said, looking disappointed.

"Stop saying sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. From my point of view it was kind of exciting. I've never seen anything like that before," she said, smiling at him. "I got the food," she said lifted the bag she had in her hand.

"I was supposed to treat you to dinner, you know…" he said shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it. It was on the house – James owes me a few favors he's happy to repay in food that I'm always willing to accept."

The last comment made his tension disappear again as she started to open the bag to hand him his sandwich wrapped in foil. She grabbed hers, opened it, and quickly took a bite.

"You don't have to walk me home. It's getting pretty late. I'm sure you have somewhere to be or need to be getting to sleep…" she said after swallowing her bite of food.

"I wouldn't let you walk home alone at night," he said taking a bite of his own sandwich. _Wow this is pretty tasty._

"Well aren't you quite the gentleman, Mr. Crosby," she replied playfully. She started to walk towards the way they had come. They walked side by side eating their sandwiches and continuing their small talk. They both finished their sandwiches and threw their wrappers and the bag in a garbage can on the sidewalk.

"How's your ankle feeling? Need any help?" He was worried about her ankle being sore, but he also was kind of disappointed to not have his arm wrapped around her anymore. _Jeez, why do you even care? You just met this girl. She probably doesn't want your paws all over her,_ he thought to himself rolling his eyes.

"It feels fine. The ibuprofen has probably kicked in because it is just throbbing instead of hurting," she said as she made a left at the intersection. They walked a few more blocks as the neighborhood started to look a little nicer.

"So do you like living here?" he asked, trying to get his mind off of having his arm wrapped around her.

"Yeah it's nice. There isn't really anything wrong with it, it just isn't home, ya know? And it's way more expensive to live here, which is why I have a roommate," she said as she twirled her finger in her hair as she walked.

"Oh you have a roommate? How long have you two lived together?" he asked, still trying to get his mind off of her waist.

"Well we've lived together for 3 years since we both moved here, but we've been best friends since we were in diapers. He's a PhD student at UPENN, so it worked out great since we both were coming here," she said.

"Diapers, eh?" he said, smirking at her remark.

"Literally. My mom has more pictures of us as babies than I probably even know exist. Dane's mom and my mom have been best friends since high school and had us about a month apart from each other, so we were forced together basically from birth. I guess it lucked out that we get along so well. We're more like siblings than friends, really. I'm closer to him than my actual brother. My brother is nine years younger than me so I was busy or out of the house for a lot of his life," she said.

"I know what you mean. I have a sister that is 8 years younger than me, so I was gone for most of her childhood, too, even now. I try to see her as much as I can but it can be hard," he said looking down at her. She didn't reply but just shook her head up and down. A moment later she stopped walking and he was so lost in his own thoughts about how they related on the subject of siblings that he almost didn't realize that she had stopped moving.

"Well, this is where I live," she said, standing at the entrance of a large, nice looking apartment building. "Thank you for everything, accident aside," she said smiling. She reached her hand out towards him, "It was nice meeting you," and had a small smile but was looking him straight in the eye.

"Sorry again about that. Make sure you keep an eye out for clueless people on the trail," he said awkwardly shaking her hand in return.

"Goodnight," she said as she opened the door.

"Goodnight, Riley," he said as she disappeared into the building.

He turned and started walking down the sidewalk. _What exactly just happened? She just shook my hand? Why am I so disappointed with that? C'mon get your shit together,_ he thought as he rubbed the back of his neck. He glanced down at his watch and was brought out of his thoughts when he saw that it was almost 11:30. He needed to be up and ready early for a charity event and hop on a plane to get back to Pittsburgh tomorrow.

He raised his hand to signal a cab, waiting for one to pull up to him. He opened the door and climbed in, letting the driver know where to go. As he sat in the back looking out the window he thought that he wouldn't mind seeing her again. _It's not every day you meet someone like her,_ he said in his head as he thought about how her smile had been so contagious. The cab pulled up to his hotel, he paid and thanked him and got out. He walked into the hotel and went to the elevator. He got in the elevator and rode it up to the top floor where he stepped out. He pulled his room key out of his wallet and slid it into the door.

He was grateful to be back, not realizing how tired he had been until now. He walked over to his bedside table and grabbed his dead phone from his pocket to plug it in. Just then he realized it – _I didn't get her phone number. I couldn't talk to her again even if I wanted to._ He cursed to himself as he got ready for bed.


	3. Chapter 3

_Ch. 3: Disbelief and Daydreams_

Riley walked through the front entrance of her building and walked towards the stairs to climb the 3 floors to her apartment. A few moments later she was unlocking her apartment door, walking inside, closing the door, and leaning against it. She slowly slid down the door with her back pressed against it and a giant smile on her face. She wasn't sure how long she was sitting against the front door daydreaming. _What just happened? Was I dreaming? I must be dreaming right now._ She was pulled away from her thoughts when her roommate walked into the room.

"Hey! I thought I heard you come in. Where have you been? I was getting worried. You never go for runs this late and you left your phone behind. You have to stop…" and as he was speaking he glanced down and realized that her ankle was wrapped. "What happened to your foot?"

"It's a long story," she said with a smile as her head fell back to lean on the door.

"What do you mean? What happened to you? And why are you on the floor?" he said coming towards her to help her up.

She was still in a daze from the evening's events and wasn't paying too much attention to what Dane was saying. He had helped her up and over to the couch before it registered with her that they had moved. Her ankle wasn't really hurting anymore, probably because the high dose of ibuprofen was kicking in.

"Earth to Riley!" Dane yelled while waving his hand in front of her face. "Are you in there?" He sat down next to her on the couch waiting for a reply.

"I'm fine, it's just been a long, weird, awesome, crazy day," she said letting out a loud sigh with the dazed smile still painted on her face.

Dane shot a look at her indicating he wanted her to say more. "What happened? How did you get hurt?"

"I went for a run this afternoon and someone stepped in front of me and I slipped trying to get out of their way and twisted my ankle. It's just a minor sprain," she said quietly.

"Someone stepped out in front of you? Where? Why? What a jerk! When did all this happen? Did it take that long at the hospital?" Dane asked, raising his voice in annoyance at what had happened to his long-time best friend.

"It was all just an accident. I wasn't looking where I was going, he wasn't looking where he was going, and I'm clumsy, you know that. I fall over my own feet all the time," she said shrugging her shoulders.

"We both know that you can be a klutz, but that's not the point. People should really watch what they're doing! You could have gotten hurt worse. Did they make you wait forever in the waiting room at the hospital?" he replied leaning back into the couch.

"The hospital actually wasn't that busy. I didn't have to wait too long. Dr. Marcus came in right away after they took me back. He was his usual intimidating self, looking at me like I was a kid that had broken an old vase or something," she said thinking back to the disappointed look on his face when he realized she had gotten hurt. "They made sure my ankle wasn't broken, wrapped it and sent me on my way. It should be back to normal in a day or two. It's really not that bad. It doesn't even hurt right now," she said tapping her foot on the ground, as if to prove she was fine. Dane rolled his eyes and sighed at her. "I was hungry after they looked at my ankle so we walked to see James and then walked back here."

"Riley, you went to eat with the guy that was too stupid to pay attention? Why would you do something like that? You should have come back here! He could have been a weirdo, or worse. And then you let him walk you home so he knows where you live. You could have gotten a cab or called me from the hospital. I've told you a million times to take your phone with you when you go running. You're not very bright for being in medical school, you know." He just shook his head at her.

"Okay, dad," she said, standing up to head towards her room and get out of her dirty clothes. Dane had always treated her like a little sister when it came to her safety or dating, and even though she had dealt with it her whole life, it was still annoying. _He's always such a worry wart,_ she thought to herself. Just as she started to walk she felt Dane grab her wrist gently.

"You know I just worry. You have to start looking out for yourself better, don't get mad at me for that," he said with a sad look in her eyes.

She knew he was just being a good friend, but she was getting more annoyed with him. "You would have done the same thing if you would have run into the person I ran into, okay? I'm your elder, you're supposed to listen to me," she said. She always liked to bring up the fact that she was a month older than he was because it always annoyed him.

"Yeah well I'm bigger than you so still have to listen to me," he quipped back as she started to walk into her room.

She went into her room, closed the door, and slumped onto her black computer chair in front of her desk, letting out a big sigh. She sat there for a moment, letting the events of the night sink in a little more. She stood and took her dirty running clothes and shoes off and realized that she still had a good amount of mud on them, especially on the butt of her pants. She unwrapped her ankle seeing that some light bruising had already formed. _I hope this actually is feeling better by Monday so I can finish my last few days in the hospital easily. I can't believe I walked around the city looking like a dirtball. Sidney must have really felt bad for me for him to make sure I ate and got home okay._

She put the clothes in the hamper outside her bathroom door, walked into the bathroom, took her hair out of her ponytail, and started the water for the shower. She let it run for a few moments and adjusted the temperature again after testing the water with her hand. She climbed into the shower and stood still letting the water run on her for a few moments. The hot steam felt good after her long day. She quickly washed her body and hair, wanting to study for her Step 2 CK and CS exams she was taking in less than 2 weeks. She turned the water off, wrapped her body and hair in towels, and went into her room to get into pajamas. After getting dressed she walked out of her room to get a glass of water. As she was walking into the kitchen she heard Dane come up behind her.

"So who ran into you?" he asked, leaning against the counter in the kitchen.

"What?" she said as she reached for a glass on the top shelf that she could barely reach. Dane walked over, who could easily reach the glass with his 6' 3'' frame, and grabbed the glass, handing it to her.

"I asked who it was that ran into you that you thought it was a good idea to hang out with afterwards. The one that I would do the same thing for?" he said leaning back against the counter again.

For some reason, the question made her instantly nervous. _Should I tell him? He'll think I'm nuts. I could just lie,_ and she decided that lying would be the best way to approach the situation. She turned to the sink to turn on the cold water and fill her glass, "Oh, you know, just a guy that was cute…" she said softly.

She turned and took a quick drink of water out of her newly filled glass. Dane had crossed his arms and was looking at her with a weird look on his face.

"What?" she asked trying to act innocent.

"I know you better than anyone. I know when you're lying. You want to try that answer again?" he said raising one eyebrow looking pleased with himself.

She rolled her eyes at him and started to walk out of the kitchen. "I'll tell you if you wrap my ankle for me." He nodded at her, and she went into her room to grab the bandages for her ankle. She walked to the couch and sat down next to where Dane was already sitting. She handed him the bandages and put her ankle in his lap.

He was gently wrapping her ankle with the ace bandages when he looked up at her and loudly said, "So?"

Riley wrinkled her nose. "Do I have to tell you? You're not going to believe me anyway."

"Well now that you're acting all shady about it of course you have to tell me! What, was it the President or something?" he replied lightheartedly.

"No…." she said biting her lip. Dane finished wrapping her ankle and looked up at her again. "It was Sidney Crosby."

"Very funny, Riley. You should do stand-up you're so funny. Now come-on, fess up. Why don't you want to tell me," he said as he lifted her leg off of his lap and onto the ground.

Riley didn't say anything back to him, just gave him a serious look.

"You're not joking?" Dane replied wide-eyed.

She shook her head from side to side as a smile started to form on her face.

Dane jumped up and quickly turned towards her. "You're telling me that Sidney Crosby is the person that hurt you, took you out to eat, and walked you home - to this apartment – the apartment we are in right now?"

"Yes," is all she could say before he was talking again.

"The Sidney Crosby that plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sidney Crosby that is the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. That Sidney Crosby?" he said, getting louder.

"Yeah," she said, her smile growing even larger. Dane opened his mouth like he was going to say something but then closed it and repeated that motion a few times like he couldn't decide what he wanted to say.

"So what happened? Did you give him your number? Was it, like, a date? Are you going to see him again?" he said, excitedly.

"Nothing happened! He was just being nice to me because he felt bad that I got hurt. He was very kind, and wanted to make sure I didn't hurt my head. He walked me home because he wasn't comfortable with me walking by myself at night in the city. He didn't even ask for my number," she said, feeling a little disappointed about that. "You should have seen how the people at James' place reacted to him. It was crazy!"

"So James got to meet Sidney Crosby but you didn't think you should have told me, your best friend?!" She knew he was a big fan, just like her. They had grown up Penguins fans together, attending as many games as they could. Watching Mario Lemieux play had sparked a love for hockey in both herself and Dane at a young age.

"I didn't even think about it. I was too busy trying not to make a complete fool of myself. I was trying not to basically just stare with my mouth open when I realized it was him, and I didn't have my phone with me to tell you. What was I supposed to do? Ask him to come up because my weirdo roommate is a big fan? Then he really would have thought I was a psycho," she said making Dane laugh,

"Yeah, I guess that would have been weird. That's so cool though. I'm definitely jealous you got to spend the night with him. It's good to hear that he was nice to you, at least. You'd think that someone like that would be a jerk," he said, calming down.

"He was just a normal guy. I never would have thought he'd have been that way. Well, at least I can say I met him! Not many people would actually believe it probably. I can just tell everyone to ask James since he got to witness it," she said giggling.

"You're always so freaking lucky," Dane replied. "I'm heading to bed. Just for the record, I am mad at you for not giving me the chance to meet him," he said smiling while walking into his bedroom.

"Goodnight," she said as she walked towards her own room, grabbing the glass of water she had left in the kitchen.

She sat down at her desk, turned on her desk light, and opened her First Aid for the USMLE Step 2 CK book and opened UWorld on her laptop. She stared at the pages, trying to read a page, but started to get distracted by her thoughts. _He was really nice. With all that money and fame you'd think he would be a prick or something. He was even more attractive in person than in pictures, too._

Her mind kept wandering for a while until she heard the air conditioner kick on and snap her out of her daydreams. She looked at the time on the screen of her laptop and realized that it was already after 2am. _Damn, I should really get some sleep. I have the day off tomorrow so I'll just study then,_ she thought to herself as she closed her book and laptop. She turned off her desk lamp and climbed into her bed, grabbing her stuffed tiger that she has slept with since she was child. She set alarms for the morning on her phone, put it on her nightstand, and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
